Final Call
by Tooner
Summary: Ten years have passed since the defeat of Ultemecia. Galbadia has collapsed and fallen into the hands of warlords, Esthar has opened up, and SeeD has become the premier conflict-solver of the world. Now, a new group of SeeDs enters into the world.


Final Fantasy VIII and all characters related to the property of Final Fantasy VIII are copyrights of Square Enix.  The characters of Miles Animus, Jasmine Farway, Lee Reist, Veronica Mitchell, and all other characters and items not copyrighted by Square Enix are the intellectual property of Philip McCabe.  This work is not to be reproduced without consent of the author.  

((It was nearly three years ago that I set out to write the first _Final Call_ story.  Looking back on all the stories today, I honestly feel a sense of embarrassment.  This is not the writing style I employ today, and the story oversimplifies and cuts corners merely because I wanted to finish it.  I begin this project, then, in the hopes of recreating Final Call the way I want it to be told.  This is _Final Fantasy VIII: Final Call _as it should have been written all those years ago.  Chapter updates, due to my hellish life, will be on a "when I feel like it schedule, but I'll try and squeeze out one a week.))

Final Fantasy VIII: Final Call

                Squall Leonheart brushed aside a strand of his brown hair, admiring the landscape laid out before him.  The seas off the coast of Galbadia were always a sight, especially from the administrative office of Balamb Garden.  He sighed for a moment, realizing that he had little time to take in the sights.  He wasn't here on a vacation.

                Business, at least for a SeeD, always came before pleasure.

                As he turned from the window and sat in his chair, he reached to the desk and flicked a small switch.  The switch activated the intercom between his office and Garden's cockpit.  The familiar bleep sounded, and he began to speak, "Xu, are you there?"

                The voice that came back was stern, but warm and motherly.  It was appropriate, Squall thought, since Xu was in many ways a mother to most of Balamb Garden's students.

                "Yes, Squall, I'm here.  What's wrong?"

  
                Squall smiled slightly, "Nothing's wrong at all, Xu.  Ask Nida how long we have."

                There was a pause, then finally, Xu's voice came back over the speaker, "He says we have about an hour until touchdown."

                Squall nodded to himself, "Great.  Get on the P.A. and tell everyone to gather in the usual spots.  Tell the eligible students to assemble in front of the elevators."

                "Yes, sir."

  
                Squall flicked off the intercom and leaned back in his chair.  Today was the test day.  About twenty students were to be tested.  Looking over the list of students on his desk, Squall identified one who stood an excellent chance of passing:

                Miles Animus.

***

                Miles Animus was ready to throw up.

                He was standing alone in his dorm room, tapping his gunblade nervously against the ground.  He sighed and looked up towards the air, wondering whether or not he'd be able to pull off a passing grade on the upcoming SeeD test.  Failure wasn't the end of the world, but it would mean waiting some time before another chance, and that was time that Miles didn't want to take.  There was also the inherent risk of getting killed during the test.

                There was a knocking at the door.  Miles looked up, then called out, "It's open."

                The door opened with a gentle creaking sound, and a small, young woman stepped in.  She grinned a bit, running a hand quickly along her SeeD uniform as if to wipe off a speck of dust.  Miles grinned back.  Her name was Jasmine Farway, his girlfriend for a year now.

                "Hey Miles," she said, "What do you think of my uniform?"

  
                "It looks great on you, Jasmine.  It really compliments your hair."

  
                Jasmine had dark red hair.  His comment was a very transparent lie.  She rolled her eyes and grabbed a pen off of his desk next to her, throwing it at him.

                He laughed slightly, "Okay, so it doesn't.  Can you blame a guy for trying?"

                She smiled slowly and walked over to him, sitting on the bed next to him, "No, I guess not."

                "I guess I should get changed into my uniform, huh?"  
                She smiled seductively, "I can help you, you know."

                "A tempting offer, Jas, but not now.  How about when I need to get it off?"

                Jasmine laughed and started to walk out of the room, but not before turning back to Miles, winking, and saying that it sounded like a plan.

***

                "It's still not a very good idea, you know."

                Quistis Trepe nodded at Zell Dincht as he attempted to verbalize his feeling on the subject, with some difficulty. 

                "I mean, just going in and trying to find this guy we're supposed to help, without knowing who he is, or what he looks like, or even how big his army is over there?  Sounds like a bad idea to me."

                Quistis nodded again, "Zell, we were given a specific place to make contact.  So, we'll go in, get there, and hold position until our mysterious client reveals himself.  That's really all there is to it."

                "I just don't like it."

                "You don't have to like it, Zell, just do it.  That's what we get paid for, you know.  We are mercenaries.  No question, just action."

  
                _Or at least,_ Quistis thought, _that's how it's supposed to work._

                There was a time for SeeD that they operated like mercenaries.  No thought to the client, the target, or what was being done, just thought to the payment and survival.  Then came Edea and Ultemicia, and all of that changed.  SeeD became a noble organization dedicated to fighting the sorceress.  Then they won.  Now, after ten years, SeeD was caught in turmoil over what to do.  Could they ever go back to being true mercenaries again?

                More importantly, SeeD had to adjust to the new political atmosphere.  Esthar, after the Ultemicia Crisis, had finally opened its doors to the outside world, and Galbadia, short a true ruler, became a power vacuum, subject to ten years of civil war that was still raging.  Warlords rising up and attempting to gain control constantly.  Dollet City, once a wonderful city of bright lights and constant nightlife, had fallen to battle, and was quickly becoming a deserted battlefield.  Factions and splinter cells, not armies, were SeeD's new targets.  It was a different battle, and SeeD was struggling to catch up and remain at the front of military conflict.

                Zell half-grinned at her comment, "I suppose you're right, but it doesn't stop me from feeling uneasy about all of this.  Too many things can go wrong, y'know?"

                "I know, Zell, I know."

***

                The call for assembly came quickly, without a warning.  All SeeD candidates were aware that the test was to take place sometime during the day, but when the PA sounded, and Xu called for all SeeD candidates to assemble in front of the elevator, it took most by surprise.

                Miles dashed madly towards the elevator area, still buttoning his SeeD uniform, while Jasmine arrived only a minute before him.  Standing in front of the fountain, ready to go, was Lee Reist.  He had been waiting there all day, too nervous to leave or do anything else.  As Miles finished buttoning his shirt, he approached Lee, a wide grin on his face, "Lee, how long have you been here?"

  
                Lee smiled in return, "All day, Miles, all day.  I figured the second I walked away would be the second everything started."

                Jasmine laughed slightly, which earned her a sardonic grin from Lee.  Their exchange was quickly interrupted, however, by the chiming of the elevator.  All quickly stood to full attention and lined up in height order, with left Jasmine at one end and Miles at the other.

                The doors opened, and three more students stepped out.  Everyone allowed themselves to breathe again.  Jasmine turned back to Lee, "Well, Lee, I find that rather hard to believe."

  
                Lee frowned, one eyebrow raised slightly, "Why is that, Jas?"

                "Because," she said, grinning slightly and placing her hand on his shoulder, "I'm pretty sure that was you on the hotdog line at lunchtime."

                Miles sat down on the ground, leaning his back to the wall, smiling at the exchange, his attention focused on the female torturing Lee.

                "Well," Lee said, sighing in defeat, "a guy has to eat sometime."

  
                Jasmine smiled, her demeanor softening and allowing a bit of the ambient light to catch her azure-colored eyes.  Miles smiled at the sight as she laughed, "Well, Lee, I'm glad you got something to eat."

                He shrugged, rolling his head from one shoulder to the other, "Actually…"

  
                "Don't tell me."

                "They sold out."

  
                She held a straight face for almost ten seconds, biting her lip hard and holding in the laughter.  It finally came.  First as a sputtering, and then a guffaw as she collapsed to the ground in front of him, loving every minute of the situation's humor.  Lee seemed less amused, but smiled lightly to keep the situation from reaching an awkward level.

                "Attention!"  The call came from a voice behind them, approaching opposite to the elevator shaft.  The voice belonged to Xu, who had apparently enjoyed hiding and preparing to surprise the recruits as the last of them began to assemble by the fountain.  They all quickly stood straight at attention, their eyes focused on the elevator ahead of them, the location they were all trained to keep an eye on during assembly.  Xu smiled softly, knowing well that the recruits could not see her.  She shook her head slowly, getting herself back into the drill sergeant routing, "About face!"  The recruits spun around as if it was their only purpose.  They stood at full attention and saluted, their hands hitting their shoulders in a near perfect unison.  She nodded, ran her eyes across the group, and finally spoke, "At ease."  Slowly, the assembled group in front of her spread their legs apart slightly and folded their arms behind their backs.  "Okay, group," she said, "Squall will be down momentarily to brief you all on the general purpose of the mission.  I'm only here to tell you that we'll be ready to go out in less than a half hour, so don't get too comfortable.

                The group nodded and stayed in their positions until Xu waved her hand and stepped away.  Lee was the first to jump out of position and to the railings on either side of the hall.  He leaned back against one and watched as Miles and Jasmine stepped over to him.  The three exchanged knowing glances.  The time for the operation was fast approaching, and the apprehension levels of the assembled group were growing quickly.  Miles reached to his back holster, pulling out his gunblade.

                The Dual Hyperion was regarded as one of the single most unique gunblades in use.  Modeled after the Hyperion, Seifer Almasy's weapon of choice, Mile's gunblade featured two blades, both like that of the Hyperion, with a gap between them that allowed the bullet to pass through.  It was a double-edged sword with a gaping hole in the center, to be blunt.  Heavy and sometimes awkward, it took a tremendous amount of strength and concentration to wield the weapon.

                Miles ran his finger along the blades, checking their sharpness.  Satisfied, he returned the weapon to his back holster, just in time to hear the sounding of the elevator.  The students quickly returned to attention, this time for the correct person.

                Squall Leonheart looked out at the crowd.  Dressed informally, he looked much like he did in old war photographs, his leather bomber jacket looking almost precisely the same as it had ten years ago.  He nodded at the students, and then spoke, "At ease."

                The group relaxed and waited for his announcement.

                "Okay," Squall said, after taking in a breath, "Here's the deal.  As some of you may or may not know, Balamb Garden is currently pulling into position near Deling City.  Deling City, as you all should know, is the former capital of Galbadia, and a highly contested spot for the multiple warlords and their factions who know control the former Galbadian lands.  We've received a request from aid from one of these warlords.  We don't know the precise situation in the city, so we're sending in a small group to investigate the situation and attempt to link up with our contact in the city.  Once this assessment has been made, we'll make the calls on how to proceed.  The SeeD candidates will be participating in both aspects of the mission.  Now, we're dividing you into three groups, each to be commanded by senior members of SeeD.  Under command of Quistis Trepe will be candidates Reist, Jacobs, and Martin.  You are Squad A.  Under command of Selphie Kinneas will be candidates Farway, Leona, and Anderson.  You are Squad B.  Finally, Squad C will be candidates Animus, Limin, and Burke, under command of… Zell Dincht.  Squad D will be the non-candidate squad, with Irvine Kinneas, and Nida Carson.  Xu Onassi will be in command of both Squad D and the operation.  Candidates shall report to their commanders for further orders.  Any questions?"

                A small woman raised a hand, "Sir."

  
                Squall nodded at her.  "Yes, Burke?"

                "Who," She said, pausing to contemplate her wording, "are we working for, exactly?"

  
                Squall sighed.  "The precise identity of our employer is not known.  This is why we are hesitant to send in a full force at this point.  We hope to find that out.  Any other questions?"

  
                No one moved.

                Squall clapped his hands together.  "Then let's move out!"

                Without hesitation, the assembled group made their way towards the garage, prepping for deployment.  Squall sighed, put his hands to his hips and shook his head, allowing a slight grin to form on his battle-worn face.  Turning around, he stopped himself from jumping back in surprise as he came face to face with a thin, raven-haired beauty.  She smiled at him.  "Hey, Squall."

                Squall leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.  "Hey, Rinoa.  How long have you been behind me?"

                She giggled and replied, "Only a minute or so.  Just enough to hear you finish up."  She placed her hand to her forehead, closed her eyes, and outstretched her other arm, forming a dramatic pose.  "You were absolutely wonderful, oh fearless leader."

  
                Squall rolled his eyes and reached over, picking her up and stepping towards the elevator.  "Was I wonderful?"

  
                She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You were as wonderful as you can be when you make your speeches."

  
                He sighed.  "I try, you know."

                "And you fail."  She giggled again.  "That's OK.  I know you're good at some things."  She raised an eyebrow flirtatiously.

                He grinned in reply as the elevator doors opened and he stepped inside.  "Oh?  Well, I'll show you that I'm more than good."


End file.
